


Mad Max : Road Safety

by sillyboyblue



Category: Mad Max Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, hospital au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-09-28 04:16:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10071113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sillyboyblue/pseuds/sillyboyblue
Summary: When EMT Crawford Montizano rescues the victim of a motorcycle accident, it's up to Doctor Bubba Zanetti and Nurse Johnny to nurse the nameless biker back to health.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vanfu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanfu/gifts).



"Where did I go wrong ?" he asked himself as the wheels of the truck were getting closer. What was it even doing here ? It occurred to him that he might have been the one in the wrong lane. How did it happen ? He did not even feel tired. So where did he go wrong ? He did not have much time to think about it. 

"Please don't let me get under the wheels, please don't let me get under the wheels...!"

At the last moment he managed to move his bike so that the truck only hit the back wheel of his motorcycle. The impact sent him flying God knows how high and far. Time stood still as he realized that he was about to die. Why die so soon while he had barely lived at all ? Maybe he would be alright. He did not even feel any pain.

 

He was not the most cool-headed and communicative EMT, but he was fast and effective, and that was all that they asked of him. Crawford Montizano could not say that he loved his job, but he was the best at it. He did not mind the crazy working hours, so when they called him at three in the morning for a motorcycle accident, he was there in a flash. He found the biker in a field. It was a miracle that the poor guy did not snap his neck when he fell. However he noticed a bad cut around the area of his femoral artery, and although he believed that it had not hit it otherwise he would probably be dead by now, he applied a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Crawford nearly pissed himself when the man moved his arm towards him as he did not expect him to be awake. The poor guy on the ground was fading in and out of consciousness.

 

Doctor Bubba Zanetti was cold and distant, but the fact that he was one of the best specialists in the hospital made up for it. He was known to make life-saving decisions without hesitation. He saved countless lives and hundreds of families were grateful to him. He was specialized in treating victims of road accidents. He was assigned the case of the nameless biker as soon as he came out of the resuscitation room. He suffered from multiple injuries ; a broken arm and leg, a busted collarbone, broken ribs, a collapsed lung and a serious head trauma but hopefully his vital prognosis was not engaged. His head injury was what worried the doctor the most, since he could be suffering from partial memory loss. Bubba told his nurse to come and get him when his patient woke up. 

 

Nurse Johnny was one of Doctor Zanetti's students and had just graduated from medical school. From student he became assistant for his best professor and he now worked full-time in the hospital. He loved what he was doing and he did it well. He was asked to watch over the nameless biker until he woke up and then to call Doctor Zanetti so that he could introduce himself and explain to his patient what happened to him. So far, the man he was looking after was quiet. The only sound in the room was the respirator next to the bed. Johnny felt sorry for the poor guy. He would thought that he was drunk-driving but his blood-tests came back negative. He heard the sheet rustling, followed by a groan, and then the nameless biker was awake.


	2. Chapter 2

White. Pain. White. So much white. Blinding. He felt something being ripped from his throat and gasped for air, coughing a few times but failing to bring his hand to his mouth. 

"Stay calm, the doctor will arrive soon."

The soft voice prevented him from going into a full-blown panick attack. At least he was not alone. Once his eyesight was back, he tried to make out the nurse's face. The voice belonged to a young man with curly hair. Lovely shiny curly brown hair. He looked like an angel. Was this Heaven ? That would explain why everything was so white and why his body was so numb.

The door of the room opened to reveal a doctor whose coat was as white as the rest of the room. He stood at the foot of his patient's bed with a file in his hands. 

"Do you know why you're here ?"

The nameless biker groaned and the doctor motioned for the nurse to get the bucket. They both helped the man into a sitting position right before he vomited in the bucket. There were better ways to introduce oneself. Once he was done, he laid back on the bed -- or rather the two men holding him lowered him onto the mattress -- and stuttered.

"I was in an accident..."

The doctor took notes of everything that he said.

"What else ?"

The nameles biker looked confused.

"I don't know..."

He could not remember anything else. Unless...

"Wait ! I saw a face..."

The doctor listened carefully to every word as if there was a second secret meaning to each.

"What did it look like ?"

He asked questions like a police man and it made his patient uncomfortable, even though he had nothing to feel guilty about.

"I didn't see it clearly, but it was a man... And he had a beard."

The nurse whispered something in the doctor's ear and he nodded while writing down the description of the mysterious face.

"I am Doctor Bubba Zanetti and this is Nurse Johnny."

They waited a long time for their patient to introduce himself. He was horrified when he realized that he had no idea what his own name was.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember... I'm sorry--..."

He tried not to cry in front of them -- he never cried in front of anyone -- but he had been through so much that he had a breakdown.

"It's okay," said Nurse Johnny in a calm and reassuring voice, "there's no need to be sorry."

Doctor Zanetti wrote down everything that happened methodically.

"Do you mind if we refer to you as John Doe until your real name comes back to you ?"

The nameless biker was so shaken that he could barely think and did not care.

"I don't mind."

 

Crawford Montizano was glad to learn from Nurse Johnny that the man that he rescued a few hours earlier had survived. That was why he loved this job.


	3. Chapter 3

Nurse Johnny showed up the next morning for breakfast. The John Doe biker hated hospital food but he was starved so he ate it all without complaining once. Nurse Johnny talked to him during the embarassing process of cleaning him and changing his bandages. It made it a little easier to handle.

"I thanked the Nightrider on your behalf."  
"The Nightrider ?"

Nurse Johnny was nearly done with the bandage on John's head but John wished he would stay longer. It got lonely without someone to talk to.

"The Nightrider. Crawford Montizano. That's what we call him because he's always on the night shift."

The nickname made John smile. But he wished that himself had a real name instead of a nickname. Well, he knew that he did but he could not remember it so he might as well not have any. 

"What happened to me ?"

John's face must have betrayed his pain because Nurse Johnny pressed a button that sent morphin shooting through his veins. 

"Unfortunately I have to go now, but if you wish you can ask Doctor Zanetti when he visits you."

 

Doctor Zanetti was back at it with his police interrogation-like questions. If John did not hate him already, he definitely did now. Hate might not have been the right word but he was too high on morphin to come up with a better one.

"What happened to me ?"

He hoped that Doctor Zanetti would interrupt his endless flow of questions to answer his.

"You were accidentally caught in a police car chase. You were hit by the truck they were after. One of the police men called the emergency services."

So there were actual police men involved. John half-expected Doctor Zanetti to rip off his coat to reveal a police uniform. Now that would be funny.  
Doctor Zanetti gave him a long speech about how he would walk again with physiotherapy, but that he would not have to think about that before three months at least. The realization that he would be completely dependent on the Doctor and the Nurse during this time slowly sank in. He used to be an independent man. That is why he had no loved ones. He never stayed in one place for long. Everybody feels trapped in a hospital, but it was much worse for him. He was stripped from everything that made him who he was. 

 

He was down in the dumps for the rest of the day. Even Nurse Johnny's presence at lunch and his bad attempts at telling jokes did not make him feel better. John was waiting for Nurse Johnny to bring him his afternoon snack so he did not ask himself any question when he heard someone knock on the door, but when it opened to reveal none other than Crawford "Nightrider" Montizano, his eyes went wide. That was the man who had rescued him ! 

"It's you ! It's you--..."

John felt so frustrated to have forgotten the name of his savior that he just stuttered :

"Mister Nightrider..."

The Nightrider laughed heartily as he sat at the foot of John's bed. He looked at the extent of his injuries and whistled like he was impressed.

"They did a remarkable job on you."

That was the Nightrider's way of saying that he thought that John would have lost a limb. He extended his hand and shook John's good one gingerly.

"It's Crawford Montizano, but you can still call me Nightrider if you want, I kinda like it."

Finally, John cracked a smile for the first time in hours. The Nightrider could tell that it did not happen often. Being in the hospital is not easy for anyone. 

"I heard you're a John Doe. I'm sorry you forgot your name."

John was so glad that no one so far had judged him on the fact that he had forgotten his own name. Everyone had been so patient and caring with him. And Crawford Montizano inspired him respect.

"I'll always remember you, Nightrider."


	4. Chapter 4

It is easy to lose track of time in the hospital and John lost count of his meals. Days were always the same. Or that is what he thought until Nurse Johnny burst into tears during breakfast. John forgot about his cereals as soon as he saw the tears rolling down his friend's cheeks. They had known each other for a while now and they had grown close. They were friends.

"What's wrong, boy ?"

Johnny -- it was just Johnny when he was like this -- wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his coat as he sobbed pitifully. The sight of the crying boy broke John's heart. He was not used to caring about anyone before, if he only ever did. 

"I'm not good enough."

John could not believe his ears. Not a word of what Johnny had said was true. Maybe it was his fault. It was true that he pushed Johnny around but it was always in a playful manner. He never went too far, or at least what he considered to be too far. Maybe when he would be better he would mess with Johnny's head worse than he already did but he could not take the risk of driving the boy away at the moment. He needed him and he actually liked him. 

"Who told you that you aren't good enough ?"

John genuinely believed that Nurse Johnny was doing the best he could and he would not wish for another nurse, but he would never say this out loud. He was a man of little word and he was not good with feelings. He was confused by Johnny's breakdown. He had rarely seen a man cry.

"No one, but--..."  
"If no one told you, you are good enough."

Johnny wanted to believe John's words but his feelings were stronger than his logic. He was only a boy and that is what John called him ; Johnny the Boy. He was emotionally unstable and immature. John knew that and liked to tease him about it, hopefully Johnny was used to it.

"I'm sorry, you're right."

John's good hand found Johnny's and gave it a light squeeze that brought a smile to his face. Doctor Zanetti and Nurse Johnny learned that John could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but he was not cruel to them.

"There's no need to be sorry."

The tears in the boy's eyes were gone. Johnny the Nurse was back on track.

 

Indeed, John could be a real pain in the ass. He was merely doing it out of boredom more than out of spite, as everybody in the hospital soon figured out. His favorite thing was flirting with the nurses, singing dirty songs and asking for kisses -- but since he was stuck in his bed, it never went very far. That was when he was in a good mood ; but he was much worse when he was in a bad mood. He insulted everyone and everything, refused to eat, and hissed at anyone who tried to go near him when he was at the worst of his pissy mood.  
The only person that he was not an asshole to was Crawford, Montizano, the Nightrider, probably out of gratitude.


	5. Chapter 5

Some days were harder than others, and this morning the halls were finally quiet.  
The pain in John's limbs awakened at night and the morphin did little to relieve it. The nurses had to endure his howling until his throat was raw and he could only hiss in their faces.  
He eventually passed out from exhaustion and was woken up by Nurse Johnny in the morning.

"The guys from the nightshift told me you gave them a hard time last night."

John felt just like on the day of his worse hangover. He could feel his heart beating in his head and his stomach. His body ached too bad for a recovery that was too slow. 

 

After that day he was even more obnoxious than before. If the hospital crew found him annoying before, they were not ready to handle him at his worst. He was miserable so he became cruel. He took his anger out on poor Nurse Johnny who had done nothing wrong.  
It all stopped on the day Johnny snapped and had a breakdown in front of John. The next time that John saw Doctor Zanetti, he just told him :

"Well played, John. You've outdone yourself today."

John's health began to decline. Nurse Johnny did not show up the next day, or the next week. It was a different nurse every day. Cundalini, Mudguts, Starbuck, Diabando, Clunk... Guys that did not let John get in their way. He soon missed Johnny the Boy.

 

One morning, John heard the unmistakable sound of crutches getting closer. The door to his room opened and a blond head peered in. Much to John's surprise, a guy in a police uniform and his leg in a cast appeared in the doorway. He was walking around comfortably with his crutches -- it was like he did not even need them. 

"I was discharged yesterday but I heard that you were here so I came to pay you a visit."

When he saw that John had no idea who he was, the policeman introduced himself.

"I'm one of the two officers who found you that night."

John was not going to ask any question but there was no awkward silence as the cop seemed to be the talkative type.

"My friend stopped to call the medics and I broke a leg when I missed a turn. Not my best stunt."

The guy was all smiles and laughs and came in John's life like a ray of sun. It was a nice change in his boring and gloomy days.

"Jim Goose," he said as he extended a hand to shake John's good one, "but my friends call me Goose."  
"John Doe," replied John as he shook Goose's hand.  
"I've met lots of Johns and Janes Doe, unfortunately dead. You must be their last living relative."

John liked Goose's sense of humor. He broke into a smile for the first time in days. 

"By the way, both my friend and I can testify. That guy back there was in the wrong lane." 

A huge weight was lifted off John's chest when he heard those words. He had nothing to feel guilty about as he had done nothing wrong. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"What's your friend called ?"

Goose was about to leave when John's question stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned around and gave a cheeky smile.

"Oh, it's Officer Max Rockatansky."


	6. Chapter 6

Nurse Johnny was inconsolable after his anxiety attack. Doctor Zanetti had to escort him out of the room at the corner of which he was curled up. He let him cry in his arms and vent to him about what just happened once he could talk again.

"He called me useless... good for nothing... said I was only good for... Oh no, I can't say that...!"

Doctor Zanetti never knew the full extent of John's words to Johnny, but he had heard enough to tell that Nurse Johnny would never feel safe around this patient again. He reassured the poor boy by telling him that it was not his fault and that he did not have to go back.

 

Now that John felt a little better after Goose's visit, he realized that he had gone too far with Nurse Johnny. He voiced his wish to apologize multiple times but Doctor Zanetti never let him see him. He understood. He had said terrible things to poor Johnny.  
The unexpected happened one morning. John woke up to the softest voice.

"Good morning. I brought you breakfast."

His eyes shot open as he sat straight, nearly knocking his tray over. It was him !

"Johnny the Boy !"

Nurse Johnny braced himself but no harsh word came out of John's mouth as he was too busy stuffing his face with food. He was about to give John his daily sponge bath but something stopped him. He stood still, as if waiting for a sign. 

"What I told you that day... None of it is true." John was trying to find the right words so that Nurse Johnny would understand how he felt without giving away too much.  
"I let the worst side of me show."

John was a man of many faces. For the best and for the worst.

"And you shouldn't have had to see it. I'm sorry."

After cleaning and drying John in silence, Nurse Johnny replied with a genuine smile :

"I forgive you. Will you let me wash your hair and shave your face ?"

 

Doctor Zanetti was as secretive as his patient but when he visited him and saw his clean hair and shaved face, he could not hide a knowing smile. That was Nurse Johnny's work.

 

John's mood improved considerably after he was told that the cast around his arm would be removed soon. Finally being able to use both his arms after weeks would be a life-changing experience. He behaved himself around the doctors and nurses and stopped pushing Johnny around even if it was just for fun. He was just too happy to finally feel some progress on his recovery. Taking off the cast was the easy part. John would have to have physiotherapy to learn how to use his arm properly again. 

 

He had a visitor on the day that the cast around his arm was finally removed. The man wore the same uniform as Goose but he was nothing like him. 

"Hello, John."

He sat on the chair next to John's bed with his arms crossed. John could not read him. It was unsettling.

"I'm Max Rockatansky."

John's face lit up. It was the police officer who made the call that saved his life ! He wanted to say so many things but the only words that came out of his mouth were :

"Thank you."

Nonetheless Max seemed to understand. He was quite secretive as well. John liked him already.

"No problem. I came here to bring you this."

Max placed a small object in John's palm and knew that he had just made a man happy when he saw his reaction.

"Kali !"

It was a small green statue representing the Hindu Goddess. It was not the same one than on John's helmet but he guessed that it had either been broken or lost in the crash.

"I figured out you'd like to have her with you."


	7. Chapter 7

No matter how good the hospital crew treated him, John still suffered greatly from his memory loss. He remembered the accident, but not much before that. It did not matter, he was pretty sure that he did not have many memories worth remembering anyway. On the other hand, he was extremely frustrated not to be able to remember his own name. So much that one day he had a breakdown in front of Doctor Zanetti and Nurse Johnny. He was shaking, hyperventilating and close to tears.

"Where am I gonna go," he repeated over and over again, "if I don't know where I'm coming from ?" 

Their best attempts at soothing him were useless, until Doctor Zanetti took his face in his hands and forced him to look at him in the eyes.

"I'm lost." said John.  
"We found you," replied Doctor Zanetti, "and we won't release you into the wild just like that."

 

Nurse Johnny was having a hard time trying to get John to eat his unappetising hospital lunch, but John had clearly had enough. He had been feeding on it for months and while he did not mind when he was really hungry, being depressed tended to make him lose his appetite. Nurse Johnny did not want his patient to skip a meal, so he found a solution to the problem.

"We're going to the cafeteria."

Nurse Johnny could tell that John had been dreaming of it for a long time when he saw the look on his face. He requisitionned a wheelchair since John's arm was not strong enough yet for him to use crutches and wheeled him down the halls to the place where the food was better than on his tray.

"Are you taking me on a date, dear Johnny ?"

Although he got no answer, John proceeded to tell everyone they met that Nurse Johnny was indeed taking him on a romantic date to the cafeteria. Nurse Johnny just kept growing redder and redder.  
Everything tasted so good compared to John's usual bland meals that he ate a little too much. As he leaned back into the wheelchair with both his hands over his stomach and holding back a belch, he whispered to Nurse Johnny :

"Forget about the chair ; I can roll all the way back to my room."

 

"...Crawford."  
"No... You wish !"

The Nightrider and John were sitting on John's bed trying to figure out what his real name could be.

"Nah, mate, there can only be one Crawford in this room, and it's gotta be me."

They had tried hundreds of names in vain. The game that was fun at first was getting depressing.

"Joe ?"  
"No. Can we stop now ?"

The Nightrider had grown fond of John so he hated seeing him sad. He could understand why the man was upset, but he had no clue how to make him feel better. He was sure that he could find him a better nickname than boring John Doe.

"Okay, JD. I still think Joe suits you."


	8. Chapter 8

John had nowhere to go and no place to stay. He had no idea what would happen to him once he would be discharged. He had not thought about it before because he was focused on getting better, but now that the day the cast around his leg would be removed was getting closer, he could not think about anything else. He had no papers, no money, and not even a motorcycle anymore. He was all alone in the world without anyone to turn to. Actually he was not sure that he was, nobody really knew the extent of his amnesia. However, what he had no doubt about was the fact that he did not have any family. They would have visited him otherwise, would they not ? Or perhaps, since John was probably not included in any register, the hospital had not been able to contact them.

 

He was not the only one to worry about his future. Doctor Zanetti had been thinking about it all along. What worried him the most was that John may never get his memory back. He had not discussed this possibility with him yet, but he was afraid that he would eventually have to. John was not as secretive as him but he rarely spoke about himself. Doctor Zanetti did not even know if he had a job, and it appeared that John did not know either. The worst part was that he did not even seem to know who he really was. It went further than having forgotten his name. He might have forgotten about some of his own character traits. He had some suspicions that John was not exactly the most lawful man but he would not be able to explain why. He had vowed never to judge a book by its cover, but John just had this look... The look of a biker, and not just any biker, the kind that would be part of a gang. But since he had no real proof, he never brought it up.

 

John woke up to a commotion in the hallway. He identified at least ten different voices, and it was usually no big deal as some patients had a large family visiting them, but this time was different because he recognized those voices. He snatched his crutches at the speed of light although he was not quite used to them yet, and made his way to the room where the voices were coming from. The group expected a doctor or a nurse when they heard a knock on the door, but they were in for a surprise. They all gasped as soon as one of them opened the door. John ignored them and rushed to the bed where a man who looked exactly like him was lying unconscious. Just by looking at this peaceful face, a tidal wave of memories overwhelmed him. He turned to the man he knew was Undertaker who was visibly trying to hold himself together, but the shock was too great.

"It's been six months... We thought you were dead...!"

 

Nurse Johnny could not find John, and he was about to panic when Doctor Zanetti spotted him in the hallway.

"You should check that room." he suggested, and he turned out to be right. 

Nurse Johnny entered the room just when half of the gang was hugging John and slapping on the back. He decided to leave them alone. It was their moment, and he dared not interrupt it. 

 

John was leaning over the sleeping man's bed when he opened his eyes and they recognized each other. 

"Am I dead...?"

John laughed as he shook his head.

"No, not quite dead yet."  
"Then why are you here...?"

John wanted to hug the injured man, to hold him tight and never let go. He could not believe that he had forgotten about him, about all of them. The Grave Diggers. It was probably for the better, as he would have missed them too much. Six months. No doubt that they had thought him dead.

"I don't remember much... But I know I had an accident. What happened to you ?"

Captain Midnight answered instead of his friend, figuring out that he was tired and needed to save his energy.

"He was shot in the gut. But he's a fighter."

The fighter in question was battling to stay awake for a little longer, but he was beginning to give in.

"I missed you, 'Cutter."

John's eyes widened and he gasped at the sound of his name in his brother's mouth. His twin brother Toad had called him 'Cutter, as in Toecutter. At last he felt complete again. 

 

"You went on a ride on your own," explained Undertaker once Toad was asleep, "and you forgot your jacket. It was the only thing that reminded us of you."  
Toecutter tried to imagine how devastated they had to be when he disappeared, especially Toad. He had not expected to be missed so much. He was not sure why he left them, but he regretted to have done so. It was good to see all those familiar faces, yet some were missing.

"Where's old Doctor Death ?" 

Their faces fell and Toecutter understood that something tragic happened to his friend.

"He was shot too, but he wasn't as lucky as Toad."

Toecutter fell silent. It always hurt to lose a friend, but Doctor Death was unique, and no one could possibly replace him.

 

It felt like a liberation when Toecutter figured out that he was not all alone in the world. He had friends, family. Yet he was heartbroken at the idea of leaving Nurse Johnny, Doctor Zanetti, and the Nightrider behind. They had managed to bring out the best in him, to turn him into a better person than he actually was. He knew that they would take good care of his brother, and that he would see them again when he would come to visit him. But still, when Toad would be better, he would not see them anymore.

"I might land myself in the hospital on purpose just to see you again." he told Nurse Johnny, and the young man smiled. 

Toecutter wondered if Nurse Johnny would miss him too. What about Doctor Zanetti ? And the Nightrider ? 

"My name's Toecutter." he told Doctor Zanetti, expecting to be upset by the fact that was indeed an outlaw. But the doctor simply nodded and Toecutter thought he saw the faintest smile on his lips. He did not judge him. He accepted it. 

Toecutter could not see the Nightrider before leaving. He gave a note to Nurse Johnny and asked him to give it to him. The Nightrider laughed when he read it. It just said : "I'll never forget you."

 

Toecutter left the hospital with his leg in a cast and the address of a physiotherapist. The Grave Diggers climbed on their motorcycles and he sat in a sidecar. 

Finally, he knew where he was going.


End file.
